During my 9.11.06 broadcast interview with Dr. Boyd Haley of University of Kentucky we spoke about Porphryin testing to determine how mercury toxic children are. After the broadcast a listener sent the following information about ordering these Porphryin tests.

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Hi Stan,
Heard your Boyd Haley interview – great stuff!

I wanted to send you info on doing the porphyrin test.

-Hilary

Porphyrin Test Information:

Why test? This test will show you if your child is mercury toxic and
how much so without the burden of a high dosage challenge test. (See
below) You do not need a doctor prescription to run this test. You
can request that the test results be emailed to you and the original
mailed to you directly.

The Lab had a booth at Autism One and Dr. Nataf (from France) gave a
Power Point Presentation about this. You can download it from the
AutismOne website.

They send you a very basic instruction; a white mailing envelope; and
the kit. The envelope is marked with "biologie specimine" or something
like that, and is pre-addressed to the lab.

This test is a urine test. It cost around 80 Euro (about 120 USD).
First morning urine is the best. What sets the porphryin tests from
the Lab in France apart from the porphryin tests that are performed in
the U.S. is that they can test for a specific porphyrin called
precoproporphyrin. This specific biomarker indicates mercury
toxicity. I do not believe as of yet we have a US Lab that is doing
testing for that specific biomarker - precopro. You collect urine in a
clean cup, then insert the thin pipette/straw, then poke the vial with
the straw while it's still in the cup and the urine fills the vial,
then remove the straw and package the vial in the envelope. It's easy.

I sent my test results by US Postal Service. It was very inexpensive,
and they didn't ask any unusual questions or make us fill out any
other forms. As long as they get the specimen within 7 days it should
be fine, I've heard up to 15 days the urine is still testable.
(You can also send it UPS 3 day to France or Fed Express, but not
overnight. It could get hooked up in customs. It costs around $50
to mail it to France. Be sure to mark "NON CONTAMINATED URINE
SPECIMEN" for customs purposes. )

Heavy metals may be implicated in autism
30 May 2006
From New Scientist

URINE samples from hundreds of French children have yielded evidence for a link between autism and exposure to heavy metals. If validated, the findings might mean some cases of autism could be treated with drugs that purge the body of heavy metals. Samples from children with autism contained abnormally high levels of a family of proteins called porphyrins, which are precursors in the production of haem, the oxygen-carrying component in haemoglobin. Heavy metals block haem production, causing porphyrins to accumulate in urine. Concentrations of one molecule, coproporphyrin, were 2.6 times as high in urine from children with autism as in controls. Autism is thought to have a number of unknown genetic and environmental causes. Richard Lathe of Pieta Research in Edinburgh, UK, says he has found one of these factors. "It's highly likely that heavy metals are responsible for childhood autistic disorder in a majority of cases," he claims. The study will appear in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. Lathe says these porphyrin metabolites bind to receptors in the brain and have been linked with epilepsy and autism. The researchers restored porphyrin concentrations to normal in 12 children by treating them with "chelation" drugs that mop up heavy metals and are then excreted. It is not yet known whether the children's symptoms have eased, but Lathe cites anecdotal reports suggesting the drugs might do some good. From issue 2553 of New Scientist magazine, 30 May 2006, page 21.